A recent trip to the dumpster netted me a couple of old laptops (from around 2012). The batteries are completely flat and will not take a charge. I plan on using them as beater computers around the house, so battery life doesn’t really matter but would be nice to have. The cheapest no-name batteries available for them are about $15 each. A used OEM battery with about 75% health is a dollar more.
For those who bought the cheapest aftermarket battery, was it worth it? Were the batteries surprisingly good or am I better off with a used but original one?
Extended family “IT Guy” here. Have replaced 30ish laptops batteries. The cheap ones on Amazon/eBay you have a ~30% chance of them being DOA, and 99% chance of them being dead within a year.
“Brands” like Duracell GreenCell I’ve had better luck with but I’ve been sent batteries from GreenCell which only lasted a year because they were sitting on a shelf for 3 years before they were sent to me.
OEM batteries tend to last longer than the originals as most BIOSs from Dell, Lenovo etc. now include battery optimisation which extends the life of cells.
It all come down to what you need, and how much you value your time compared to money. My personal stuff I always go OEM as I rarely replace my laptops. Current one from 2015 is still going strong. If you are willing to put up with returns and rapid replacements a £20 cheapie can look good when the OEM is £100
EDIT: Sorry just re-read your question. The OEM at 75% health is dead already. The cheap no-name ones are probably just random used cells thrown together.
You’d probably be better off with the no-name but for this use case just get the cheapest thing with a 1year warranty and cross your fingers.